During an internal quality review, Carl Walther GmbH has identified a condition that may exist in certain PK380 pistols that may permit a round to be discharged if the trigger is pulled, despite engagement of the manual safety. Walther has found that engagement of the manual safety may not prevent firing of a chambered round when the trigger is pulled.

This recall applies to Walther PK380, .380 ACP pistols manufactured by Carl Walther GmbH from May through September 2012, which have a serial number range from PK101201 to PK112155.

STOP USING YOUR PISTOL AND RETURN IT TO WALTHERAMERICA AT ONCE.

Any unintended discharge of a firearm has the potential to cause injury, and we ask that you stop using your pistol until we have an opportunity to inspect it to make certain that there is no condition which will allow the pistol to discharge with the safety engaged.

To facilitate the inspection and repair, if necessary, of your pistol, please contact Waltheramerica’s customer service department at 1-800-713-0356 to receive instructions and a call tag for the return of your pistol to Waltheramerica.

Additional information will be posted on Waltheramerica.com. If you have any questions about this recall, please contact Waltheramerica at 1-800-713-0356.

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Marlin’s Levermatic and Ruger’s Hawkeye were both chambered in .256 Winchester Magnum.

Anyone younger than 50 will be forgiven if the name “Levermatic” means nothing to them.

This was a rifle produced by Marlin in the 1950s and ‘60s that can be charitably described as “ill-starred,” but it is one that is still intriguing after all these years. And if, like your obedient correspondent, you spent your youthful years studying the 1965 Marlin catalog when you should have been learning trigonometry, then the story of the Levermatic is worth hearing.

No one will ever know what moved Marlin, maker of the multi-million-selling Model 39A lever-action .22, to design the Model 56 as a rival for its own star. But that’s what Marlin did.

The 39A was a traditional lever rifle with a tube magazine – highly attractive in those days when the horse opera dominated the airwaves, and everyone was thinking cowboys and Winchesters.

The Model 56, conversely, had a one-piece stock, a box magazine, and a mechanism whose chief boast was a “short throw” lever that could supposedly be manipulated by flexing your fingers, with your hand never leaving the stock. It was named for the year of its introduction.

The next year came the Model 57, with a tubular magazine, and later a model to accommodate Winchester’s new .22 Rimfire Magnum cartridge.

Brass for the .256 Winchester Magnum (r.) is easily formed using .357 Magnum (l.) as the parent case.

So it was no surprise, when Remington and Winchester each announced a new small-rifle cartridge in the spring of 1961, that Marlin decided to adapt the Levermatic to chamber them. The cartridges were the .22 Remington Jet and the .256 Winchester Magnum. Both were based on the necked-down .357 Magnum cartridge, and both were billed as “combination” rounds that could, like the .32-20, be chambered in either a handgun or a rifle.

Oddly, neither Winchester nor Remington chambered a rifle for their own creations; instead, they sent them out the door to make their own way in the world, like Oliver Twist.

Smith & Wesson did adopt the .22 Jet, creating the Model 53 “Dual Magnum” double-action revolver to shoot it. This revolver came out around 1962, and lasted until 1974.

Ruger created its “Hawkeye” single-shot lookalike of a single-action revolver, with a pivoting breechblock in place of a cylinder, and chambered it for the .256 Winchester. They made 3,300 of them (and created an instant collector’s item) before throwing in the towel.

The only riflemaker to take any interest was Marlin, which adapted its Levermatic action to the two centerfires and the result was the Model 62. Although it was slated to be made in both the Jet and the .256, only one Jet (a test model) is known to exist. It was sent to Ken Waters and Bob Wallack for a test article for Gun Digest. The .256 Winchester did go into production, however, and Marlin made some 8,000 of them.

In 1966, Marlin added the .30 Carbine chambering and began phasing out the .256 Winchester. Another 8,000 .30 Carbine Model 62s were made before the rifle was discontinued completely in 1971.

Factory .256 Winchester Magnum ammunition is discontinued, so handloading is the only option for an avid Levermatic shooter.

With only two handguns and one rifle originally chambered for these cartridges, they did not last long on the ammunition lists. Winchester stopped making .256 Winchester around 1990, and the .22 Jet was gone from Remington’s list by 1993. Today, both are strictly handloading propositions. Although factory Remington brass is still available, .256 Winchester brass will never be made again; apparently, Winchester destroyed the dies. It can, however, be easily fashioned from .357 Magnum brass, with a two-die forming set from C-H Tool & Die.

Owners of Marlin Model 62 Levermatics generally fall into two categories: Those who would not part with them, and those who want to sell because they can’t find ammunition. So, while not exactly common, they are not collectors’ darlings, either.

What a Levermatic is, though, is the source of a lot of fun shooting. Once you have a supply of .256 brass, ammunition making is easy and economical, and the Levermatic is a very accurate, well-made rifle. Noise is mild, recoil nonexistent, and you can stalk squirrels and ground hogs to your small boy’s heart’s content, regardless of your age.–Terry Wieland

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The issue of darting rhinos in any form continues to swirl in South Africa. Since my article in the Safari Times last month, more clarified information has surfaced on the matter. Here is the latest information available.

Full-fledged “green” darting of a rhino by a hunting client is still illegal. This is where the hunter fires the tranquilizing dart himself. But, vita-darting of a rhino is legal if it is done under the banner of “medical purposes.” The tranquilizing dart must still be fired by a licensed veterinarian, then a dart full of vitamins is immediately fired by the client. Note that the rhino must need to be tranquilized for some sort of medical purpose. This could entail blood testing, microchip implanting, the need to move the rhino to another property, or another part of the owner’s property, or doctoring for an injury, etc.

Legal permits will be issued for this type of hunt by the government, once justification is determined. I have just spoken with an SCI member who participated in such a hunt with Irvin Tam within the past couple of weeks. The rhino was tranquilized, and then moved to another property. This member has the legal permits in hand.

The Record Book & World Hunting Awards Committee has voted to accept vita-darted rhinos into the SCI Record Book of Big Game Animals under the “Darted Rhino” category in an effort to sustain the economic value of the rhino during these difficult times.

If you have booked such a hunt, do not cancel it! It is up to the landowner and the veterinarian to determine the medical reason needed to dart the rhino.

On another note, the Safari Club International Record Book & World Hunting Awards Committee has voted to accept vita-darted rhinos into the SCI Record Book of Big Game Animals under the “Darted Rhino” category. This is an effort by them to sustain the economic value of the rhino during these difficult times. As always, a rhino may be hunted with a rifle and the trophy shipped home. You will no doubt see vita-darted rhino hunts available at some of the hunting conventions within the next few months, both on auction and at outfitter booths. You do not need to be afraid to purchase one.

I sincerely hope this adds some clarification to the “what you can, and what you cannot do” concerning rhinos in South Africa.–Herb Atkinson, Chairman, SCI Record Book & World Hunting Awards Committee

Chad Matherne is featured here with his Arabian Oryx that is a potential Top Ten overall and scores a 70. Congratulations to Chad for his successful hunt in Texas. We appreciate Chad documenting his hunting heritage with SCI and adding to our valuable collection of scientific data! In addition, the funds collected by SCI Record Book directly aid in protecting your freedom to hunt and hunting for our next generation.